


i lost a friend (i lost my mind)

by acorn_ddddd



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banished Loki (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Thor (2011), Darcy Lewis & Loki Friendship, Gen, Loki - Freeform, Lots more characters to be introduced, Probably lots of mistakes, Slow Burn, i have no idea what im doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-09-28 13:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20426423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acorn_ddddd/pseuds/acorn_ddddd
Summary: When Loki was caught manipulating Thor during the events of the coronation, Odin decided to banish Loki instead. Same place, same time.There, Loki met Jane, Darcy and Erik





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve always wanted to do something where Loki was banished instead, where maybe Loki doesn’t go so crazy since he isn’t alone when he finds out his true heritage. Plus I think I’d like Loki with Darcy and I’m disappointed that we never see them together
> 
> Maybe archive warnings will change?? I don’t know, I’m still figuring out if I should add a relationship and with who? Not Jane though >: 0
> 
> Comments spur me on, it gives me motivation 💕

The whirring of the Bifrost calmed down and softened as the seven Asgardians gained footing on the floor of the Observatory. Without a single word or noise, Heimdall easily caught Hofund as King Odin dropped the sword from the pedestal. Immediately Thor puffed out his chest, in what Loki assumed to be an intimidating gesture.

“Why did you bring us back?” He demanded, his blue eyes practically glowing from rage. 

“Do you realise what you have done? What you’ve started?” Odin immediately started, choosing not to answer Thor’s query. Loki was standing behind Odin and Thor, observing the whole area they were in. He could see Fandral being held up by Volstagg and Sif, Hogan standing beside them.

“I was protecting my home!” Thor growled, standing defiantly toward his father, with his hammer clenched in his hand.

“You cannot even protect your friends! How can you hope to protect a kingdom?” Odin asked, though Loki was sure he wasn’t actually expecting an answer from his firstborn. The Allfather then seemed to notice Fandral and his hole in his stomach, “Get him to the healing room. Now!” Sif and Volstagg helped Fandral out of the Bifrost, Heimdall following them in their wake.

Now it was just Thor and Odin. And Loki, but Odin seemed to just forget he was there. Loki would probably feel bad for tricking his brother and him getting the blame in any other situation, but this was his plan. Odin now _had_ to see that Thor was still a reckless boy eager for war.

Thor probably should have dropped the situation, Odin seemingly hesitant to carry on the conversation. But he didn’t.

“There won’t be a kingdom to protect if you’re afraid to act!” When Odin didn’t think that deserved an answer, the thunderer continued with more fury ridden in his voice, “The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you.”

Loki fidgeted with his hands, taking in a deep breath silently as not to turn the attention to himself. That made him uneasy, from what he’d seen in Jötunheim. He didn’t have any proof, but there was something in his gut telling him that it made sense. 

“That’s pride and vanity talking, not leadership.” Odin replied, staring down at Thor with many emotions flickering over his face. Loki could see anger the most, but there was something else behind it. Sadness? Disappointment? Guilt? “You’ve forgotten everything I taught you, about a warrior’s patience.”

Without even a beat to spare, Thor growled at their father, “While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Only Jötunheim _would_ be laughing at them, but they’re obviously not. Thor just went there and committed mass genocide to their people. They’d probably be more angry than amused.

Loki sighed silently, watching Thor continue to get himself in trouble, “The old ways are done. You’d stand giving speeches while Asgard falls-“

“You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!” There went Odin’s temper, 

“And you are an old man and a fool!” Thor snarled at The Allfather, the veins in his neck jutting out in poorly concealed rage. Loki’s brother had too much pride to let someone chastise him, even his father. 

There was a long moment of silence, where Loki gazed at both his brother and father, for once not knowing what was going to happen. 

“Yes,” said Odin, “I am a fool. To think that you were mature enough to think for yourself.”

Odin turned to Loki, his face suspiciously calm and open, “Loki. You twisted your brother’s head to your whim.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. The rounded roof of the Observatory suddenly seemed stifling and heavy upon his shoulders. How did Odin know it was him? Thor always acted like this.

“You have got to control that silver tongue of yours. I will not let you risk starting wars because of some silly feud between you too.”

“Father-“ Thor tried again to interrupt him and speak his mind, but was stopped and quietened by a horrific snarl by Odin, shock fluttering over his angered face as he fell silent. Loki could see that his lips were thinned, probably now seeing how big this actually was. When Thor turned his gaze upon his brother, Loki subtly looked away. His plans weren’t ruined, but he didn’t think that he would be punished.

There was another big pause, the air silent as everyone seemed to hold their breaths. Odin hung his head for a minute or two, probably going over punishments in his head.

“Loki Odinson.” Loki purposely kept his gaze blank, expression closed, “You have betrayed the command of your king. Through your skills of trickery and manipulation, you have played your role in opening these peaceful realms and innocent lives, to the horrors and desolation of war!” The king’s voice got louder as he talked, and Loki shuddered, his skin tingling with the anxiety of what was upon him.

Gungnir was placed in the Bifrost, flickers of lightning cackling up to the top and dispersing at the tunnel. The Observatory began its whirring once more, the golden walls spinning around them. Odin stared down at his youngest, his one blue eye narrowed in anger.

Things were just going too fast for him, completely barrelling out of control, and that hardly ever happened with him. The trickster preferred to have dominance in every conversation, never allowing anyone to get to him. This turn of events was so surprising to him he physically felt disoriented on his feet.

With a quick glance at his brother, Loki could see Thor looked lost, probably confused on how he got out of his punishment. But Loki could see betrayal in his eyes, surprised that his own brother had manipulated him into destroying his chance at the crown. Emotions ran freely across his face, allowing Loki to read whatever he wanted from him.

His legs almost buckled as Odin padded down the steps and stood before him, speaking up once again, “You are unworthy of these realms. Unworthy of your title! You’re unworthy- of the loved ones you have betrayed.” And _that_ hurt Loki. It was nothing new to the trickster, being told he was unworthy, but to hear it from Odin. Something heated up behind his ribcage, and he couldn’t tell if it was anger, sadness or some other emotion.

“I now take from you your power!” Loki didn’t feel any different from before, but his guess was corrected as he attempted to grab at his magic from within him. It was still there, but it felt slippery to the touch, “In the name of my father, and his father before! I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!” 

And with that, Loki felt a rush of pressure pushing him backwards through the Bifrost once again. The last thing he saw was Thor, his eyes wide in surprise as he looked down at his brother.

* * *

The night in Puente Antiguo was incredible. Breath-taking, in the desert. There wasn’t much to be seen for half a mile away, but the gentle wind in the air and the chirping of crickets dominated the darkness. The sky wasn’t completely black, a navy blue with thick clouds covering most of the sky. 

Fingers clacked on a keyboard as the time ticked closer, predicting with scientific research. It was basically silent in their small van, nobody talking as they moved from monitor to monitor. 

The devices started beeping in levelled tones as Jane Foster stood out of the large sunroof, soon accompanied by Erik Selvig. The device in her hand was still beeping, showing that it was time for the aurora to start. 

The scientists looked up, their mouths slightly open as they waited.

Jane could see Erik look at her in the corner of her eye, a sceptical look on his face. She continued to look at the night sky for just a moment longer, giving him a quick look, “Wait for it,” She said, some uncertainty dripping into her voice. This was different to all the other auroras, she predicted them ones to point. 

There was a mock silence in where Erik didn’t think to answer that. Darcy, her intern, turned around from the driver’s seat, “Can I turn on the radio?” She asked in a monotone voice, already knowing what the answer was gonna be. She was shown right when Jane immediately replied with a negative, still gazing at the stars.

There was another moments pause, where Darcy turned back round to the front of the car, staring at the ground in front of her, and Jane continued looking. Maybe her calculations were wrong? Maybe it was going to happen just a couple minutes afterwards?

It seemed Erik had given up, for the older man slumped, looking back at her, “Jane, you can’t keep doing this,” He stayed, as if it was a fact. 

She thinned her lips and ducked back down into the van, “The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable to the second-”

“Jane, you’re an astrophysicist. Not some storm chaser.”

“-I’m telling you, there’s a connection between these atmospheric disturbances and my research. I wouldn’t have asked you to fly out here if I wasn’t absolutely sure.” She stared at her monitors, and when she found nothing that could explain her mistake, she fell back, sighing loudly.

“Jane?” The astrophysicist looked up as was called by her intern, a questioning worried note in her tone. Darcy was looking in the rear view mirror, up to the sky with wide eyes, “I think you might wanna see this.”

Jane Foster stared at the back window, at the colourful lights flooding the once dark sky. It was a blue, mostly, with flecks of gold and green almost shown out like a pattern. The storm lowered itself, creating a small funnel of light. Jane got up from the van and flew herself up the sunroof, entranced, “What is that?”

“I thought you said it was a subtle aurora,” Erik looked at her, joining her up the sunroof.

With a start, she yelled at her intern, “Go!” Darcy stepped on the accelerator, gripping the steering wheel as she turned round to drive towards it. The van hit a bump as they went and the front would defiantly have some sort of scratch on it. The scientists jumped back down, getting in their seats. Jane grabbed her camera and held it out the window, “Get closer.”

“Right, good one,” Darcy replied, before realising with a look of horror that she was completely serious. That’s what she gets for interning with a crazy astrophysicist. It just couldn’t ever be a normal day. 

As they got closer and closer, the storm descended to the ground, almost like a tornado with blue tinted winds of sand flying past them. Darcy could hardly see anything and when the tornado-like storm of lights hit the ground in a large rumble, she twisted the steering wheel the other way. 

“What are you doing?” Jane cried out.

“I am not _dying_ for _six_ college credits!”

They didn’t end up with going in the different direction, as Jane had reached over and steered with one hand, completely taking over Darcy’s job. Small snippets of screaming and yelping filled the van as they got closer and closer, inside the storm now.

There was smoke everywhere, blinding them in the noises and lights of the storm. The only warning they got before they struck him, was a faint figure of a man, stumbling around.

They all looked around at each other as they stopped the car, horrified expressions that had no idea what they were supposed to do. When the shock died down, they pushed the doors open, quickly jumping down into the sand of the New Mexico desert and turned on their flashlights.

“I think that was legally your fault!”

“Get the first aid kit!”

Jane ran over towards the man who was scrawled across the ground, flashing his light to see if he had been given any serious injuries. Surprisingly there were none, only a bruised scrape across his forehead and cheekbone, “Do me a favour and don’t be dead,” She said, even though she knew it was not going to help at all. 

And with that thought in her mind, the man gasped in a breath as he suddenly opened his eyes, green like a forest. He elbowed himself up to look around him as much as he could, his lips thinning.

“Woah, does he need CPR? Because I totally know CPR,” Darcy explained from where she was standing, apparently not having bothered with the first aid kit when she saw there were little to no injuries on him. Erik stood a little far behind, looking around him and wondering where this man could’ve come from.

Jane seemed to stare at this man, her thoughts jumbled as everything seemed to catch up to her, realising how close they were. She blinked, as the man kept gazing at her with a blank expression. He suddenly slumped back into the ground and let out a soft groan, “Where’d he come from?” She looked at Erik, who gave a one handed shrug.

Deciding he had been sitting on the floor long enough, the black haired man then got up to his feet silently, looking around him as he seemed to observe the desert before him. Then he looked at the sky. The blank, dark sky with no traces of the storm left. With a muttered grumble, he kicked at the sand underneath his feet.

“You alright?” Darcy asked, her eyebrows drawn together.

There was no answer from the man, except a low snarling sound and another kick in the ground as he kept his eyes locked at the sky. A gasp from Jane caught everyone’s attention except him. She got closer to where he was standing, following the pattern as it went round in a circle, “Oh my God, Erik look at this!”

There, in the ground was a indent of some sort, clearly left here by the storm. How, she didn’t know, but this was exactly where it had hit the ground, and where the man was stumbling about.There were many intricate details in the design and she quickly crouched down to sketch them in her notebook. 

It was rather peaceful to her, wondering why the man hadn’t spoken once after getting hit by their car. Which, yeah, they should probably do something about him – they can’t leave this man out here in the desert without any supervision. 

That made him sound like a kid. But he did look pretty young, as she looked back at him. With a small start, the man quickly turned round and stared at her, or what she was doing. Was sketching the design considered weird to him? 

“Jane,” called Erik Selvig from where he was standing, staring at the man, “Maybe we should get him to a hospital.”

“No, no. He’s fine, look at him!” She went back to work.

“What is this hospital you speak of?” The strange man suddenly spoke up, taking a step towards Jane, his accent surprising the three people around him. Jane realised that he sounded British, which was weird in New Mexico. Especially in the desert all alone. 

With this thought in mind, Jane looked him over. He certainly looked different than any locals she’s seen in the town. He had black hair that reached just under his ears and curled ends, and a very angular face. His clothes were peculiar; a dark green tunic which was matted with dirt, and leather (leather?) trousers. Who was this man?

“You don’t know what a hospital is?” 

The man shrugged, his eyes still narrowed to mere slits, “Am I supposed to?” He said slowly, “Maybe I hit my head when you and your machine drove straight into me.” His voice turned from polite to menacing so quickly, Jane thought from where she was still crouched beside the rune-like markings on the ground. Actually, she could feel the starting of muscle ache slipping into her legs and got up with a grimace. 

She shook her legs out, relieving herself of the creeping numbness and hoping to god she didn’t get pins and needles. That was such an unpleasant feeling, she always tries to avoid that.

“What were you even doing out here in the middle of that storm? You literally just appeared out of nowhere dude!” Darcy eyed the man wearily, Jane noticing that her hand had instinctually gone to her purse. It was common knowledge between Jane and Erik that Darcy hides her taser in there. She sorely hoped that her assistant wouldn’t use it on this guy that they literally just _ran over_ with their _van_. It could make things so much worse if the dude decided to press charges.

The black haired man sniffed, looking back at the sky like it was some great mystery to him, “Yeah well, it wasn’t my intention to get in the way of your race track here, but I really must be going.” He stalked forward. The guy gave off a weird vibe, Jane couldn’t deny that, but she was glad to let him go his own way while she does her research. 

The storm above had dissipated long before now, but the markings were still engraved into the desert sand.

Obviously Darcy had different ideas. 

The last thing Jane saw before she ducked her head down again was the dude in green walking towards, but not at, Darcy’s direction. She _thought_ that her assistant would let him walk past her.

__

But when Erik cried out beside her, “Darcy!” and she heard the telltale sound of electricity cracking and a body hitting the ground, she whipped her head around. There on the ground was the man, clearly having been tased. 

__

“Darcy.” She laid her disappointing eyes on the fellow woman. She turned back to Erik, who shrugged. 

__

“Maybe we should take him back with us?” 

__

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wakes up and has his second interaction with these annoying Midgardians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments really spur me on  
I’m sorry for taking so long my motivation is dead

“God, Jane! Help me out here; grab his legs, will you?” A woman’s voice was the first thing Loki heard. Strangely, the first thing Loki thought about was the voice. It was almost whiny-like, lower than most Asgardian woman’s voices he’d heard before. It was a nice change from shrill, high-pitches.

“Why do you need help? I need to get inside and scan these readings.” Another woman’s voice, more silky this time.

“Uh, because he’s heavy as shit! I know he looks skinny, girl, but he’s not light! I swear he’s as heavy as all three of us combined.” The first voice again.

“I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for someone to have that much body mass.” This time, an older male voice. It sounded similar to Odin’s voice, so with that in mind he deduced, messily and with his brain foggy, that the man seemed to be in his later years.

Loki’s head was spinning. The last thing he remembered was walking past a woman, keeping her in sight in case the three surrounding him were threats, and suddenly a searing amount of pain in his left side. It was crackling and spitting off electricity, just like he’d experienced with Thor when he was younger.

Oh, Thor. The name was bitter in his thoughts, reminding him of the recent events that had brought him down to Midgard. Of all places, it just had to be Midgard, didn’t it. Where the mortals had all but forgotten who he even was.

No, the old man couldn’t have sent him down to Vanaheim, where the people actually loved him for his sorcery. Or Alfheim, where he spent the majority of his childhood learning new things in the vast libraries it had. 

Midgard was one of the worst realms to be sent to. Of course, he didn’t want to be sent down to Jötunheim without any magic or seidr coursing through his bloodstream. But at least the frost giants knew who he was.

And that just reminded him of his recent discovery on Jötunheim. Why did his hand turn blue?

Why did his hand turn blue?

Maybe it was a curse. 

Maybe it was-

No. Deep down, Loki knew the real reason why. It would make so much sense if it was true. But the former god had no way of proving that theory, so he’d buried that deep, deep, _deep_ down.

He did _not_ want to think about that right now - he’s stuck with these mortals in an unfamiliar realm where they clearly had no knowledge of who he even was. It would be so much easier if he could just say his name and they would actually respect him like the prince he was.

No matter. He was used to not being respected as the rightful prince. He was the second prince, he was useless according to most of Asgard. 

His senses were coming back to him slowly. He could now feel himself laying down on something soft, perhaps some furs or a blanket. He wouldn’t ever admit it aloud, but he can safely admit it to himself in the back of his mind that he was rather confused about that. One of the girls he had heard before had incapacitated him and now he was lounging in a nicely comfortable spot?

Yeah, weird.

He strained his ears, focusing on what he could hear in the room around him. The former god could sense another person close by, ensuring his enhancements were still intact by feeling the slight heat waves being given off. Thank the Norns for Odin’s sliver of common sense. If he had taken away Loki’s magic, he simply wouldn’t be able to survive. 

Loki could feel his magic thrumming under his skin, able to be touched but not pulled upon. It slipped out of his grasp every time and he knew he had Odin to thank for that.

Slowly but surely, Loki cracked open his eyelids, staying as quiet as possible and keeping his shallow breathing slow. The first thing he noticed was a large blue eye staring down at him, perhaps a couple inches from his face.

He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, apart from the girl who witnessed it, but he startled in shock and both eyes widened as he leaned away from her.

The girl didn’t look so surprised, and with frighteningly calmness called to someone behind her, “He’s awake.”

There was some shuffling with immediacy and something fell on the ground, but Loki kept his eyes on the woman before him. He had no ideas what their intentions were and his instincts screamed at him to not pull his sight away.

The woman before him didn’t look threatening, kneeling on the ground beside his spot on a comfy chaise-like object. But he’s learned that appearances mean nothing to people’s intentions and even this scrawny looking woman could be hiding the devious of plots if she wanted.

Plus, the last thing he remembered before he was shock, was her panic-stricken face. It had very high chances that she was the one who inflicted the shock.

“Ah, I’m so sorry about Darcy!” This new woman entered his peripheral vision and seemed to clench her jaw, “Darcy, get away from his face! I’m sure he doesn’t like to be woken up with someone staring them down.”

As the black haired woman huffed and leaned back on her haunches, Loki drew his eyebrows together and turned his head to look at this newcomer, “‘He’ is right here. And I can speak for myself.”

A look of disgust rolled over the standing woman’s face and she placed her hands over her hips in an exaggerating manner. “Well I’m sorry! But we did take you in after we found you in the middle of the desert! Who knows if you would’ve survived without us.”

“You hit me with your driving machine.” Loki argued stonily. “And then gave me an electric shock afterwards.”

The two woman seemed to exchange glances as he spoke, their expressions ranging from confusion to amusement.

The girl still on the floor snorted and turned to face him, “Driving machine? Dude where did you come from?”

Loki felt his face twitch, in annoyance that these Midgardians were disrespecting the Golden Realm’s second prince. How was he to know what each contraption was called? He guessed it was common knowledge on this backwater planet.

Like a petulant teenager, he rolled over to face the cushions and spoke in a bland tone, “I have no wish to continue this conversation. I am tired.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets rudely awoken and has a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while and I literally wrote it in about an hour. 
> 
> But strangely people liked the past chapters :0 !! So that’s gotten me a bit more motivated. 
> 
> Hope you like this new chapter!

Loki smushed his face into the comfy ‘sofa’s’ (as he’d heard the girls describe it as) back pillows, the chill of the fabrics practically soaking into his bones. He hadn’t lied. He was tired, exhausted at how these two days had progressed so far. But he didn’t _want_ to sleep. 

Every time he closed his aching eyes, images of frostbite-blue skin plagued his mind. It didn’t want to leave his thoughts and it watched over him as he attempted to fall into dreamland. He had long since abandoned trying to sleep and decided to listen in around him. 

The mortals he was now staying with (now memorising their names with how often they used them), like a stray cat, were loud. And if they weren’t loud, they didn’t stop mumbling or walking about. It was around midday now, so he couldn’t really judge, but he felt so _tired_ and they wouldn’t _be quiet_.

Loki just had to deal with it, and he pressed his face deeper into the pillows.

He must have fallen into some sleep-like dozy state for he startled to gentle prodding on his shoulder. He whipped his body around, only to find the more ‘softer’ of the two girls, Jane. He’s pretty sure he prefers her to the other one.

“Uh-hey there. I didn’t mean to make you jump but I was just wondering if you were hungry. It’s 1 now so…” She mumbled to a stop, and then looked behind her. It was only due to his sleep-pressed mind that he didn’t see the older man standing a few feet away from the sofa, “And um, we realised that we still didn’t know your name, and that’s kind of an important thing.” She presses her lips together and tilted her head in a ‘what can you do’ way.

Loki opened his mouth, and promptly closed it to look up at the man. Erik, if his mind serves him correctly. He wondered what motives they could have had for the knowledge of his name, but eventually he came to the conclusion that their inquiries were innocent enough.

“Loki.” That’s all he said. No last name. To he completely honest, Loki hadn’t even meant to forgo his last name. It seemed natural at the time, and he went along with it. He didn’t miss the immediate drawing of eyebrows from Erik, but ignored it. It really wasn’t important at the moment.

“Hm. Loki. Okay, strange name for New Mexico but that’s fine. I’m gonna ask you again, are you feeling hungry? We were gonna go grab a bite in about half an hour, and I figured you’d probably like a shower and a change of clothes?”

Loki took a while to ponder on the word ‘shower’. Allspeak roughly translated it to an equivalent of bathing, but standing up. Perhaps like times where Loki and Thor and his friends had to bathe in a waterfall occasionally while out hunting.

“Yes, that would greatly be appreciated, Jane.”

“Hah! You know her name. I knew you’ve been awake and listening to us the whole time.” He looked up, twisting his head to see Darcy’s head and bust visible from the sofa back. He was surprised that she managed to sneak up behind him and manage to listen on that whole conversation.

“Don’t look so surprised Loki-Doke. I’ll have you know, I’m a complete master at stealth and undercover missions.” She grinned, her teeth visible. She was being sarcastic.

“Hm,” He eloquently replied to the darker haired woman before slumping back down to face Jane, “I would like to take up on that offer for a shower and clothes. And food, as well, if you mind.”

Jane brightened up, standing from her position on the floor, clapping her hands together. “Great! Darcy, can you please show Loki to the shower while I go finish up on my work. I’ll go and get you some clothes before, obviously.”

“Huh? Why me? You offered, and I have better things to be doing.”

“Like listening to ‘Living on a Prayer’ for hours on repeat?”

“Uh- speak for yourself! Just because you listen to music and work at the same time, doesn’t mean you can’t count yourself out!”

“Darcy…”

* * *

Loki followed Darcy down a nice hallway in this house of these three people. His legs felt hollow-like. When they get exhausted so much, they start to feel wobbly, and weak. He guessed that he was just tired after all that he had endured.

What he needed was a nice, uninterrupted night’s sleep. But he could deal with this – he has many times. While out in the Asgardian woodland where their group trekked, it became second nature to put aside feelings like that. 

He would not be mistaken for being vulnerable. 

Presently, he was passing by a window, slowing down a little to glimpse outside. It was dusty, a desert. What a lovely, little place to land and be stuck in. The air seemed to shiver from after-effects of the scolding heat. 

Weirdly, it made him shiver.

Darcy’s voice brought him back to the present, “Dude, why have you stopped?” She sounded unimpressed.

But, she _did_ make a good point. Loki realised that he had completely stopped in his tracks, and Darcy has turned around to question him, hands on her hips.__

_ _Loki huffed, “I don’t know. We’re not exactly in a hurry, are we?” Regardless of his words, he picked up the pace again, and they started walking down the lovely hallway._ _

_ _“Nah. But I’m freaking starving! So the sooner, the better.”_ _

_ _Loki hummed, and the two quickly reached a small little, wooden door. Darcy opened it and spread her arms out wide, almost as though she were showcasing an extraordinary view._ _

_ _What he saw disappointed him a little. But he had been raised in diplomacy, and knew that things could be a whole lot worse. He could still be wandering the desert outside, found by no one. With his weak, mortal body, something drastic could’ve happened. He didn’t dwell on it._ _

_ _“Alright, dude. I’m gonna give you some privacy. Jane gave you some clothes there on the laundry bin. She said that they should fit you.” She smiled to herself, the reason unknown to Loki. Perhaps some joke that only she knew. Or maybe the achievement of showing their new house member the bathing room? Who knew._ _

_ _She was about to leave, hand grabbing the door handle on her way out, when something in Loki made him speak up, “Wait-“_ _

_ _She looked back, her expression twisted in questioning._ _

_ _Loki rubbed his hands together unconsciously, “Uh- I was just wondering how you worked the shower?” The word sounded weird on his tongue, but using Midgardian words would take away some suspicion. _ _

_ _Darcy blinked, “What, now you don’t know what a shower is?”_ _

_ _“No.” He bristled, “This is just confusing.” Loki gestured to the handles connected the shower. He was smart, (not modest) and knew that they were somehow relevant. _ _

_ _“Huh. I guess our shower’s a bit weird compared to other ones I’ve come across. So this knob here turns it on and off.” She quickly twisted it, making sure it wasn’t enough to splash onto the floor. “And this knob here adjusts the temperature. It’s not really that hard.”_ _

_ _Loki nodded, “Thank you, Darcy.” Somehow, he felt it was a whole lot easier to breathe now he wasn’t pictured as some wild man with little-to-no outside contact._ _

_ _“Your welcome, Loki-Doke.” She punctuated that with a quick pat of his chest as she walked back out, “Be quick, won’t you? Again, I’m so hungry! So please.”_ _

_ _And with that, she disappeared, closing the lovely, wooden door behind her. Loki suddenly felt a bit claustrophobic in the small room, but the idea of a nice warm sower tempted him to strip down, peeling layers of leather of his body._ _

_ _He was sandy, still had remnants of Jotun blood on his body, and overall disgusting. He turned on the shower and stepped in. The nice hammering of the water on his back soothed him. _ _

_ _Thoughts of Asgard penetrated his mind, wondering what everyone was doing at the moment. But, then he realised that he didn’t care as much as he thought he would. As exhausting as Midgard is, it strangely feels so free._ _

_ _He watched the water swirl down the drain and closed his eyes._ _


End file.
